Photographer and stormchaser extraordinaire Mike Olbinski is back with the fifth volume in his “Vorticity” series. Shot over the 2022 and 2023 tornado seasons in the U.S. Central Plains, this edition has virtually everything: supercells, microbursts, lightning, tornadoes, and haboobs. There’s towering convection and churning, swirling turbulence. It’s a spectacular look at the power and grandeur of our atmosphere. (Video and image credit: M. Olbinski)
Living in the central and western United States, it’s easy to dismiss summer weather as just another storm, but the truth is that this region sees some of the most majestic and spectacular thunderstorms in the world. And no one captures that grandeur better than storm-chasing photographer Mike Olbinski. His latest film is named for the Navajo word for rain and features over 12 minutes of the best storms from 2021 and 2022. Towering turbulent clouds grow by convection, lightning splits the night sky, and microbursts pour down from above. As always, it’s a stunning depiction of the power of atmospheric fluid dynamics. (Image and video credit: M. Olbinski)
Today, enjoy this moody black-and-white short film of storm timelapses. Photographer Mike Olbinski is a master of this subject. I never tire of watching his towering convective supercell thunderstorms or his picturesque microbursts. The lightning-lit clouds in the latter half of the film are particularly spectacular (assuming you do not have sensitivities to flashing lights). And there are a few haboobs and a tornado in there for good measure, too. (Image and video credit: M. Olbinski)
This moody music video features storm chasing footage from photographer Mike Olbinski. As always, his captures are stunningly majestic. Watch closely and you’ll see everything from bulbous mammatus clouds to powerful microbursts, from horizon-obscuring haboobs to sky-splitting lightning. And if this video isn’t enough, there’s plenty more to enjoy. (Video and image credit: M. Olbinski)
The stunning power and beauty of our atmosphere comes to life in Mike Olbinski’s latest short film, “Monsoon 6”. Over the years, I’ve probably watched dozens of Olbinski’s videos, yet he still captures sequences that make me exclaim aloud as I watch. In this one, some of my favorites are the microburst at 2:17 and the development of mammatus clouds at 3:20. How mammatus clouds form is still very much an area of active research; I don’t know if Olbinski’s footage sheds light on their formation, but it is supremely awesome to watch! (Image and video credit: M. Olbinski)
Mike Olbinski’s latest storm chasing timelapse, “Monsoon V,” is once again spectacular. Although I do think the name could have been “Haboob” instead, given how many sweeping dust clouds encroach on the viewer. These towering wall clouds of dust can form from downdrafts at the leading edge of a cold front, or from the fading remains of a thunderstorm. In dry, dusty regions like Arizona, the strong downward winds spread outward as they near the ground, picking up dust and sand. Below you can see two examples of haboobs racing ahead of fronts.
The middle image shows a microburst, where a sudden, localized downdraft falls out of the storm. Notice how the wind and rain sweep outward as they near the ground. This is typical of any flow heading straight toward a wall! Check out the full video for lots more gorgeous fluid dynamics in action. (Video and image credit: M. Olbinski)
Earlier this week a Columbus, OH TV station tower camera caught this awesome timelapse footage of several microbursts in a thunderstorm. A microburst is a sudden, localized downdraft inside the storm. You can see a clear microburst starting at about 0:30 seconds. Note how it flares up and out as it hits the ground, eventually settling around the time a rainbow appears on the left edge of the frame. These strong winds moving down then curling out can be dangerous, both to structures on the ground and to any aircraft unfortunate enough to be taking off or landing in the storm. (Video credit: WCMH; submitted by
A. Bcstractor)